- Date
- August 22, 1989, 21:20 local (Aug 23, 1989, 01:20 UTC)
- Place
- Church Creek, MD
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3688BBeech B50
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890822030429A
- Case key
- 11470
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
VFR flight into IMC and pilot disorientation, which resulted in the loss of aircraft control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of instrument experience, darkness, and the adverse weather condition.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The plt was on a VFR flight, when according to radar data, the acft entered an area over the chesapeake bay reported as IMC. The acft descended rapidly and crashed in a wooded swamp area just east of the bay. The plt was returning to the arpt, where the flight originated earlier. The plt obtained a wx briefing about 9 hrs earlier and he was advised of marginal VFR forecast up to 1800 hrs. The investigation did not disclose evidence that the plt received a wx briefing before the accident flight. The plt was not instrument rated and he obtained a multi-engine rating 2 months before the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3688B
- Reported as
- Beech B50
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- CH-102
- Airframe hours
- 6,185
- Engine
- Lycoming GO-435-C2, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Gregory W. Garrett
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 3, 1989 · 41 hours before
- Departed
- N80 · Ocean City, MD
- Destination
- Leonardtown, MD
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 34
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 451 total · 27 in this make and model · 25 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 210° at 5 knots
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Observed at
- SBY
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.